One of my favorite hawker foods from Penang not called char kueh teow would be prawn mee and loh mee. While the those two dishes are related (as served by places such as Mee Yoke), classic Penang loh mee actually do differs from prawn mee in several ways.

a bowl of classic loh mee in an old school kopitiam

The most obvious distinction between loh mee and prawn mee would be the soup. Instead of prawn shell and pork based soup, the soup for loh mee is a gooey broth made from starch and beaten eggs. The chili paste/sauce used for loh mee too is often more fluid, and vinegared garlic is often available as another condiment to add to the taste. Hard boiled egg and pork too are standard with loh mee.

One of my favorite loh mee stalls in Penang would be at Hai Beng kopitiam located just right next to the Goddess of Mercy Temple (Kuan Yin Teng) in Penang.

pork skin, intestine, hard boiled egg, fried shallots, prawns. yums!

The loh mee here is a s classic as you can get. I love mine with pork skin, meat, and intestine to go with the standard ingredients of hard boiled egg, boiled prawns (prawn mee style), fried shallots, bean sprouts, noodle and mee hun. A good dosage of vinegared garlic and chili paste is essential too.

The smooth texture of the soup combined with the taste of pork and complexity added from the condiments makes it a very satisfying breakfast or late afternoon dish especially if you pair it with a good old fashion Penang black iced coffee.

Hai Beng Kopitiam is located next to Kuan Ying Ting (Goddess of Mercy Temple)

The loh mee goes for RM 3.50 (small), and RM 5.00 (big). Of course, extra charges for extra ingredients. If I remember correctly, the bowl I had was something like RM 4.50?

Now I’m really hungry.

Address:
Hai Beng Kopitiam
Lorong Stewart,
10200 Penang
GPS: 5.418358,100.338548

Tags:  hawker,  loh-mee,  Penang,  pork

Posted by KY | 28 Comments »

It’s been a while since I had some Lam Mee (淋面), so when I went there to yum char with my buddy Kenneth last weekend, I ordered a plate of this wholesome noodle dish despite having just had lunch a little over an hour.

ahh… mouth watering

Living Food Restaurant has been in operation for quite a number of years, and is actually operated by the sister of the famous May King Lam Mee at Pudu. The interior of the restaurant, while resembles a kopitiam, is clean and air conditioned.

Ordering food is very simple too, just write down the number of items you want on the little ordering template provided, and hand it to the waiter. Prices are written on a giant board on the wall, so you can work with your budget. It’s simple and minimizes a lot of waiting time.

ordering is easy as 1-2-3

I ordered the Lam Mee with thin noodle and mee hun, while Kenneth had the more traditional version with the thicker noodle. The dish basically resembles Loh Mee (卤面) in Penang, like the famous outlet in Chai Leng Park, Penang. The biggest difference being the chili paste provided, Loh Mee usually comes with the Prawn Mee style chili paste and finely chopped garlic, while Lam Mee here comes with a thinner, but spicier chili paste.

prices are written on the wall

The flavor of the dish was very good, with the sauce thick and best served warm. The ingredients include prawn, slices of pork, bean sprouts, fried shallots, some green onion as garnish, and of course, your choice of noodle. We also ordered some “fu chuk”, fish ball, and deep fried “sui kow” in an attempt to stuff ourselves.

Living Food Restaurant is located at Uptown

The main dish costs from RM 4.50 to RM 5.30, and the side orders were RM0.80 a piece. Pretty reasonably priced, and a satisfying tea time indeed. Do note that this restaurant is not opened for dinner though, they only serve from morning till around 6pm.

This Lam Mee place is just a few shops away from Sate Kajang Haji Samuri, and just behind the economical Hokano Japanese restaurant

Address:
67, Jalan SS21/37
Damansara Utama
47400 PJ, Selangor
GPS: 3.133060, 101.622194

Tags:  hawker-food,  lam-mee,  loh-mee,  prawn,  sui-kow,  uptown

Posted by KY | 13 Comments »

Note: This restaurant is no longer in business

Restaurant Fei Loh Hokkien Mee (肥佬福建面) is one of the newest establishments in the busy commercial area that is SS2 in PJ, occupying the same shop lot that used to house a rather interesting restaurant called Nutripot that failed to attract enough customers. I thought I’d give this new place a try last week, since it was drizzling and my itch of trying new places got the better of me again.

pretty decent size prawn filled with roe

Instead of trying their Hokkien Mee, I ordered the slightly more luxurious “Sang Har Mee” with Cantonese Kuey Teow (Fresh Prawn Noodle, 生虾面) instead, since they put up a big banner advertising it, for RM 13, why not? The Kerol ordered a Cantonese Egg Gravy with Kueh Teow and Meehun, or traditionally called “Yin Yeong”. Other than these dish, the restaurant offers Hokkien mee, various types of fried rice, Loh Mee, and some side dishes such as lala, braised duck, pork ribs, chicken wing, and vegetable.

clean and comfortable environment

The food came steaming hot and the portions were pretty decent as well. My Fresh Prawn Noodle looked especially eye-pleasing, with the red color from prawn’s roe, and the thick gravy, ahh.. it was just so appetizing. Fortunately, the dish did not disappoint my tongue, it was very savory and the prawn tasted fresh and delicious.

Kerol’s dish were pretty good too, though she complained that they have a bit too much garlic in it, personally, I love garlic and could never have enough of them. I also like the fact that there is free flow chili paste (that is pretty good) and pickled green chili to go about.

pretty decent noodle dishes at reasonable price

Together with a couple glasses of Chinese tea, the bill came to RM 20. The normal noodle dish was RM 6 and the drinks RM 0.50. Pretty reasonably priced for a proper set up and air conditioned dining environment. I wouldn’t hesitate to go there again to try out some of their other dishes.

However, if you are into just Fresh Prawn Noodle and don’t mind to spend more, Green View Restaurant, also at SS2, is the place to go.

Fei Loh is just a few steps away from the Korean House.

Address:
Ground Floor, 179, Jalan SS2/24
47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.116755, 101.622677
Tel: 03-7877 9527

* close every Mondays

Tags:  fresh-prawn-noodle,  hokkien-mee,  kerol,  loh-mee,  PJ,  SS2 SS3 SS4

Posted by KY | 7 Comments »

Whenever anyone talks about Penang food, we always refer to the island. However, there are still some hidden gems on the other side of Penang Bridge, Butterworth. The Lean Gaik Hokkien Mee House at Chai Leng Park is one of such places.

Slurps

The distinction between Hokkien Mee (better known as Prawn Mee in KL) and Loh Mee is the soup. Loh Mee uses the thick and heavy soup made with lotsa flour, while Hokkien Mee comes with somewhat clear soup.

This kopitiam serves both Hokkien Mee and Loh Mee but nothing else. What sets this establishment apart from the others is the variety of “extras” you can add in to your particular bowl of noodle. Including roast pork, pork ribs, pork leg, mantis shrimp, prawn, fish ball, and hard boiled egg.

I had the Loh Mee with rosted pork and pork ribs added. Would have preferred mantis prawn but they ran out of those. The also have chili paste and garlic on the table, saves you the trip to the stall to ask for more if you’re a chili happy person, or if u’re like Galvin the Chow Ah Beng who can’t have enough garlic.

While it might not be the absolute best Loh Mee that I had (there’s a stall nearby the old temple in Penang that I thought was better), it was certainly still very very good, especially with the extra ingredients you can add. I would recommend it to anyone who eats non-halal food.

Address:
50, Lebuh Kurau 3, Chai Leng Park,
13700, Prai, Penang
GPS: 5.385470, 100.392337
Tel: 04-399 1680

Tags:  hawker,  hokkien-mee,  kopitiam,  loh-mee,  pork,  prawn

Posted by KY_a | 9 Comments »